We have Cox digital cable, and recently have magically acquired a few new stations. One of these is Boomerang, owned by Cartoon Network. It plays mostly Hanna-Barbera cartoons from the 70’s, plus the Flintstones and some of the later CN stuff like Dexter’s Lab.
But…unlike CN, Boomerang has no commercials at all. There are promos for other Boomerang shows, and for the CN itself, but no ads for anything else. No cereal ads, no toy ads, no nothing.
So, how does Boomerang make a living? I find it hard to believe that it’s financially viable to keep an entire network going simply as an ongoing ad for Cartoon Network. Did they run out of bridges to fake-bomb, or what?
Noggin is a Nickelodeon channel that has no advertising. They market it as being like pre-school on TV and pimp out all the educational benefits of each show.
I’m assuming the marketing of such a channel is paid for by cable subscription. I’d also guess the cost of showing shows they own/can get cheap on another channel is pretty cost effective, hence the bajillion ESPN’s, HBO’s and whatnot.
If you ask me, the question should be why should we pay to see commercials? I guess that is how far we have come, eh?
Every cable company pays a fee to each channel for the right to run it. In cases like Boomerang (or TCM), where the cost of programming is minimal, that can be enough to cover a good portion of the cost, if not all of it. The parent corporation may also be willing to make up the difference.
I follow and believe what you all are saying, but what about Disney Channel?
Disney used to be comemrcial free, then switched. And no, Im not talking about before they switched to basic cable either.
And lets not get started on the fact that PBS shows now take breaks in the middle of their programing.
I was thinking more along the lines of that the Companies would pay the costs and totally not deal with advertising. This would fit in with the benefit of no ‘outside’ ads. They can advertising other programing and double up on ads there perhaps. I think for these channels, having no ads and using that as an advantage is more than they additional, minimal revenue they can pull in. Do they really want to be their own enemy?
Also, I remember back when Game Show network was just starting out, the only commercials they had were for the 19.95 gadget of the week. I think that part of the ‘problem’ here might be that Advertisers simply don’t see a need to buy space on these additional channels. You can advertise if you dont have something to advertise.